Our Favorite Advertising Campaigns, Part Three

In part three of our Favorite Advertising Campaign Series, Ann and Alex discuss advertising campaigns for Progressive Auto Insurance and Gears of War.

Our Favorite Advertising Campaigns, Part Three

Ann Mazzaferro, Writer

Progressive Auto Insurance, “Goodnight”

As I’ve mentioned before, I love an advertisement whose narrative touches on a universal experience in a short space of time. I don’t know a much more universal experience than having a weird, disjointed dream that makes no sense. When you combine this with the inherent comedy of squirrels, you have one of my favorite advertisements in recent years for Progressive Car Insurance. We never know exactly what causes Flo to start dreaming of stolen acorns at the Chipmunk Family Reunion, but then again, I don’t know what caused me to stop dreaming of my eighth-grade Algebra final and transition into dreaming that I was on “Dancing With the Stars” with only five minutes to prepare for my cha-cha-cha during last night’s slumber session.

(Have I revealed too much? Probably.)

It’s sharp, silly writing that pays off with actress Stephanie Courtney’s pitch-perfect delivery. I’ve probably seen this commercial a dozen times, but every time Courtney’s hisses, “Justiiiice,” I collapse into giggles all over again. While Flo’s tangent has nothing to do with the product being advertised, its sheer inanity and complete hilarity helps sell the product better than the most reasonable, in-depth pitch ever could.

Alexander Poirier, Writer

Gears of War, “Mad World”

Going into 2006, no one knew what to expect from Gears of War or its copious amounts of blood, gore and testosterone. While the game proved to be a fun, albeit shallow, distraction, its visuals set a new standard for console video games and this commercial took the Gears of War hype train to another level upon its release. The combination of Gary Jules haunting vocals, Roland Orzabal’s chilling lyrics and the video game’s depressing backdrop set the tone for the game’s entire experience and created one of the most memorable (and effective) video game commercials of all time.